Halfway Home
by StormWolf10
Summary: Second in the HavenVerse, after Safe Haven. AU. Rose is discharged from hospital, but she's still scared about what might happen, and she's really not looking forward to bumping into townsfolk in Gallifrey. Can John and the kids help?


**A/N: Oneshot by popular demand, most likely more to come.**

"Ready to go?"

Rose blinked, and looked up at John. He was smiling softly, hand held out for her to take it. She managed to return the smile weakly, nod, and take his hand. She was being discharged from the hospital that day, going back to the flat the Smiths rented. It wasn't very big, and Rose would be sleeping on a sofa bed in the front room, but quite frankly she was grateful to get out of the hospital. Still, it didn't stop her worrying. Her injuries had healed, many leaving scars in their wake, some more noticeable than others, and Rose couldn't help but worry about what people would think. John was looking to move out of Gallifrey, Donna hoping to buy the shop off him, and everyone in the town was more than aware of the fight that had taken place at the Smiths' old house. They'd also been made aware of just why it had happened.

Rose knew that the townsfolk were accepting enough; after all, they'd accepted her the first time once they'd gotten to know her. But now, now she wasn't so sure. Her scars would attract attention, there would be gossip circulating, just like when she'd first moved to Gallifrey.

"You alright?"

John's voice startled Rose out of her worries, and she realised they'd moved down the hospital hallway, John carrying her bag for her as they headed to the nurses' station. For some absurd reason, Rose could only be discharged after she'd signed a form that apparently couldn't be brought to her room.

She nodded then, managing a small smile.

"Just a bit nervous," she told him with a quiet, forced chuckle. "Haven't exactly been outside for a while, an' I didn't exactly get many visitors while I was in here."

John's face paled slightly then. It was true; the only people who'd visited Rose had been him and the kids, and Donna and Wilf and Sylvia (though she'd been a little reluctant), Mickey and Martha, Jack, Sarah Jane, and Amy and Rory. That sounded a lot, but when put into the perspective of how many people lived in Gallifrey, it was truly a feeble amount.

"Well," John responded with a slight shrug and a forced smile, "hopefully we won't be here much longer."

Rose made a small noise of agreement but still looked worried.

"It's just…" she began, before trailing off and shaking her head. Then, she started again, voice soft. "I think they all hate me, John. Everyone in Gallifrey. And… And the scars aren't gonna help. Kids will stare when I take Felix and Livvy and Oscar to school, and that's not fair on them. They've been through enough, without having to worry about me, an', an'…"

"Rose, just calm down," John told her with a small smile. "You're getting yourself worked up, and you're only going to make yourself sick."

He tugged her closer then, wrapping his arms around her and pressing a kiss to Rose's forehead. They stayed like that, in the middle of the hospital hallway for quite some time before they finally headed off to sign the forms.

**~StormWolf10~**

"The flat's admittedly too small," John told Rose with a slight frown as he drove them back to the rented first-floor flat, "but it'll do for now." He paused. "You don't mind sleeping on the sofa bed, do you? You could have my bed if you want, I don't mind." At Rose's lack of response, he paused again. "It's just, what with the kids, and everything that's happened, we're… We're hardly in a position to begin sharing a bed, not this early on, but I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

Rose nodded in understanding. Their relationship had really only existed inside the hospital. They'd been nothing more than friends before the incident with Jimmy, and although they'd become something more since, they couldn't yet bring themselves to label it, let alone share a bed.

"How've the kids been?" Rose asked suddenly. "Are they still upset about the TARDIS?"

"Felix is unimpressed at having to leave it behind, but I've promised we'll build another one when we get a new house," John explained with a tired smile. "Promised him he can help build it, too. Seemed to have cheered him up."

"I'm sorry," Rose blurted suddenly, tears welling in her wide eyes. "I never meant for any of this to happen, to you or the kids. You were never meant to be involved!"

"I know," John soothed gently, even as tears welled in his own eyes. He reached across and settled one hand on her knee. "But we're all getting better, we're all healing. It's… It's going to take a while, but… We'll get there."

"I just don't want to hurt you again," Rose sobbed quietly.

It was then that John pulled over, eyes too blurred by unshed tears for him to see the road properly.

"Rose, what do you mean?" he asked gently, silent tears beginning to fall as he reached across and brushed a strand of hair from her cheek.

Her hair was growing long again, not quite as long as when she'd first moved to Gallifrey, but just past her shoulders anyway. John knew she wanted to get it cut again as soon as possible, that Rose no longer liked her hair long because it reminded her of how she used to have it when she was with Jimmy Stone. She just wasn't sure she could get out in public to get it cut.

"I'm still scared, John! I'm still scared! There's still people out there, people like Lumic, an', an' other guys Jimmy had deals with. I don't want you getting hurt anymore, but I can't do this, not by myself!"

Rose was sobbing in earnest now, and John sighed, shifting awkwardly in the small confines of the car to attempt to hug Rose. She accepted the hug, although they were in uncomfortable positions. After what felt like a lifetime for John, Rose's sobs quietened.

"Feel a bit better now?" John asked quietly, pressing a kiss to Rose's brow.

She nodded silently, cheeks still damp with tears.

"Shall we get going, then?" he asked again.

Another nod. John sighed quietly, and navigated back onto the road.

**~StormWolf10~**

The children greeted Rose in their usual manner, all smiles and hugs and being happy to see her. Each of the children seemed to hug her a little longer than usual, too. Felix clung to her legs, face buried in her jumper, while Olivia got hold of her hand. Oscar and Alex hung back a bit once they'd greeted Rose and hugged her, but it wasn't long before they were all piling onto the sofa.

Rose had been sure to wear a jumped with long sleeves, to hide her scars. It was both for her, and the children. They'd seen the scars, after the bandages had been taken off and the stitches taken out, and while Rose had been informed by nurses that she could experiment with covering them with makeup, she really didn't want to have her arms on display at the moment.

The rest of the day was spent much the same as her first evening with the Smiths had been; watching films and eating pizza, all crowded on the sofa. The flat felt cramped, but it seemed to settle Rose, to reassure her that they were all close by, the kids and John, and that they were all safe. The kids seemed to settle, too, Felix on Rose's lap, Olivia on John's, and even Alex and Oscar were crammed close together. They all seemed to revel in the closeness the tiny flat forced them in to, how close they'd had to become since the accident, both physically and mentally. But it wasn't until they were putting Felix and Olivia to bed that Rose realised just what had happened since she'd come to the small flat with John.

"I'm glad you're home, Rose," Felix yawned tiredly into her ear as she hugged him goodnight.

Rose smiled, pressing a kiss to the boy's forehead and encouraging him to lay down so she could pull the covers over him.

"I'm glad to be home," Rose admitted quietly with a smile. "I've certainly missed you guys."

It was several minutes later, when both Felix and Olivia were settled in bed that Rose and John stepped out of the room.

"He's right, you know," Rose told John suddenly, voice soft. "Felix was right. I'm home. Well," she conceded suddenly, "almost there at least."

John smiled and offered her his hand.

"Like I said earlier," he reminded her with a smile, "we'll get there."

And that was just it, Rose realised. They were getting there. All six of them, together. Like John had said earlier, they were all healing. The physical scars had healed, at least somewhat, and it was only the mental scars that held Rose back from truly settling into her life with the Smiths, but she was certain that with John's support, she could get there. She may not be fully healed yet, Rose decided, but she was halfway home.


End file.
